Welcome to My Colonies

Monday, August 15, 2011

Music Video Monday: Bachmann Special

No music video this week. Next week, I shall do a special on Girl Bands. Last year, I had devoted a week in August to boy bands, which was fun. Now, its the girls turn!

This week, I couldn't think of a music video to feature that covers the Bachmann / Perry / Iowa Debate & Straw Poll. That's big in the news right now and worthy of further comments. But, I did find an interesting segment on the Young Turks political news commentary which says everything I believe about the Bachmanns.

Despite the popularity of Michele Bachmann among the teabagger set and the evangelical / fundamentalist Christians, ultimately, I don't think she will win the Republican nomination nor will she be the Vice Presidential nominee. I read an editorial in which the pundit mentioned that Bachmann's performance in the debate has basically destroyed Sarah Palin's chance of entering the race. I'm no fan of Bachmann or Palin, but even I could see that she performed well in the debate and did not have the kind of gaffes that Palin did in her Vice Presidential debate in 2008. When I first started hearing about Bachmann in 2009, I found her to be far more scary than Sarah Palin. Not many people take Palin seriously, because she presents herself as a flaky, flirty tease. Bachmann, though, is a serious ideologue. Though prone to her own ignorant gaffes, for the most part, she exhibits none of Palin's lazy work ethic, vindictive thirst for revenge, or tendency to quit when things get tough. Palin entertains, but Bachmann sends chills down my spine. I could easily believe that she is the second coming of Magda Goebbels (who was the wife of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Magda believed in Nazism so thoroughly that she had killed her own children in the last days of the Reich because she did not want them to live in a world where the Nazi regime did not exist). People who are fanatical about their ideology are dangerous and not to be underestimated. As Newsweek's cover photo showed, this woman has a crazed look in her eyes. I've seen several photos of Bachmann and have always had the same impression: there is no warmth, no soul beneath that gaze.

The reason why I think Bachmann's career isn't going anywhere is because of her husband. There is simply too much smoke emanating from that fire and its only going to get worse. As the press have begun to dig into the personal and professional life of the Bachmanns, one of the things we learned is that the Bachmann's have a clinic that engages in "gay conversion therapy." In other words: Pray away the gay. There is a quote I heard where Bachmann spoke about gay people being part of Satan. The way she says the word "gay" is obvious that she finds it disgusting. With video emerging of her husband, with his dancing and the way he walks and talks, people, such as comedian Jon Stewart are beginning to wonder. There are some words that Marcus Bachmann have said which seem to hint that he has struggled with sexual identity. One has to wonder if he, himself, is also a client of his own clinic. Remember that commercial about curing male baldness? "I'm not just the hair club president...I'm also a client," is what the guy in the commercial had said.

So, I'm going to say what others won't. Michelle Bachmann won't be our first woman president because there is no way the Republican party want to risk their "family values" reputation on a First Gentleman like Marcus Bachmann. He presents a Larry Craig problem, which would be a devastating scandal if something like that happens during a Bachmann Administration. I do have to wonder, though. How did a guy like Marcus manage to get someone like Michele for a spouse? There is something strange about their marriage. I hope the media continues to dig. The stench of hypocrisy is too strong to ignore.

It is my hope that the entrance of Rick Perry will harm Bachmann's chances the most. I'm fine with seeing the GOP contest boil down to Perry versus Mitt Romney. Once Bachmann is forced out of the contest, it'll be time to investigate Perry's background. And there's plenty of juicy rumours regarding his private life, as well. I'll have to hand it to the Republican Party. They sure know how to entertain. I can't take my eyes away from this train-wreck of a party. I love how the failed presidency of George W. Bush has caused this party to just go off its rocker. That's what happens when ideology trumps honest truth.

Sansego

A word I created from the French word Sans (meaning "without") and the English word ego. Basically, that sums up my spiritual beliefs. To be closer to God, we must transcend our egos and recognize we are all "one in the spirit."

My 7 Favourite Films of 2007

Gorgeous!

My Hot List (of Dream Women)

1. Audrey Tautou

2. Emily Blunt

3. Frances O'Connor

4. Thandie Newton

5. Natalie Portman

6. Shannyn Sossamon

7. Michelle Yeoh

8. Gwen Stefani

9. Zoe Saldana

10. Halle Berry

Nonconformists of the Year

The following photos represent my selection for Nonconformist of the Year, that I started doing in 1992 to honour the person who did an unexpected act, which went against the grain of conventional thinking.

1992

Bill Clinton

1993

Al Gore

1994

Nelson Mandela

1995

Lady Diana Spencer

1996

John F. Kennedy, Jr.

1997

Louis Freeh

1998

Russ Feingold

1999

Jesse Ventura

2000

John McCain

2001

Bill Maher

2002

Dave Eggers

2003

Howard Dean

2004

Joseph Darby

2005

Cindy Sheehan

2006

Al Gore

2007

Buddhist Monks of Burma

2008

Barack Obama

2009

Alicia Silverstone

2010

Julian Assange

2011

Mohamed Bouazizi

Best descriptions of GWB

1. He's a corporation masquerading as a human being -- Ralph Nader

2. He's a blind man in a room full of deaf people -- Paul O'Neill

3. Poor George...born on third and thought he hit a triple -- Ann Richards

4. You could easily imagine him owning the local car dealership down the road -- Barack Obama

5. Bush is the worst president ever...He is the worst president in American history -- Helen Thomas

Favourite Presidents

1. Thomas Jefferson

2. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

3. Abraham Lincoln

4. George Washington

5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Worst Presidents Ever

1. George W. Bush

2. Richard M. Nixon

3. Lyndon B. Johnson

4. Ronald W. Reagan

5. Warren G. Harding

Cool words I love

Kundalini

Shosoloza

Zenani

Serendipity

Psychokinesis

Recommended CDs by my favourite Irish musicians

1. All That You Can't Leave Behind -- U2

2. A Day Without Rain -- Enya

3. The Bells of Dublin -- The Chieftains

4. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got -- Sinead O'Connor

5. Herding Cats -- Gaelic Storm

My All Time Favourite Music Videos

1. Nothing Compares 2 U -- Sinead O'Connor

2. Coldhearted -- Paula Abdul

3. Smoke -- Natalie Imbruglia

4. Stay -- Lisa Loeb

5. Soak Up The Sun -- Sheryl Crow

All Time Favourite Films

1. The Sound of Music

2. The Star Wars Saga

3. Dead Poet's Society

4. Casualties of War

5. Love and Other Catastrophes

6. E.T.

7. Forrest Gump

8. Jurassic Park

9. Sarafina!

10. Roxanne

All Time Favourite Albums

1. Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World -- Johnny Clegg and Savuka

2. Earth and Sun and Moon -- Midnight Oil

3. All That You Can't Leave Behind -- U2

4. Le Baiser -- Indochine

5. Wommat (The Guide) -- Youssou N'Dour

6. Born in the USA -- Bruce Springsteen

7. Tracy Chapman -- Tracy Chapman

8. Graceland -- Paul Simon

9. The Rising -- Bruce Springsteen

10. Autoamerican -- Blondie

11. Pilgrim -- Eric Clapton

12. Thriller -- Michael Jackson

13. Crazy Sexy Cool -- TLC

14. True Blue -- Madonna

15. Whitney -- Whitney Houston

All Time Favourite Songs

1. What A Wonderful World -- Louis Armstrong

2. Sailing -- Christopher Cross

3. A Better Man -- Keb' Mo'

4. Woman Be My Country -- Johnny Clegg and Savuka

5. Time After Time -- Cyndi Lauper

6. Woman -- John Lennon

7. Man In the Mirror -- Michael Jackson

8. Hey Jude -- The Beatles

9. Imagine -- John Lennon

10. Stairway to Heaven -- Led Zepplin

My 6 Fave Songs of 2006

1. Do I Make You Proud? -- Taylor Hicks

2. Unwritten -- Natasha Bedingfield

3. Jump -- Madonna

4. Waiting on the World to Change -- John Mayer

5. Bad Day -- Daniel Powter

6. What's Left of Me -- Nick Lachey

My 6 Fave Films of 2006

1. An Inconvenient Truth

2. The Da Vinci Code

3. Blood Diamond

4. V For Vendetta

5. The Devil Wears Prada

6. Casino Royale

Three Worst Films of 2006

1. Borat

2. Basic Instinct 2

3. Children of Men

Favourite Madonna Singles

1. Live to Tell

2. Vogue

3. What it Feels Like For a Girl

4. Jump

5. Who's that Girl

6. Into the Groove

7. Angel

8. This Used to Be My Playground

9. Holiday

10. Die Another Day

Favourite Madonna Albums

1. True Blue (1986)

2. Like a Prayer (1989)

3. Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)

4. American Life (2003)

5. Bedtime Stories (1994)

6. Madonna (1983)

7. Music (2001)

8. Ray of Light (1998)

9. Like A Virgin (1984)

10. Erotica (1992)

Favourite Madonna Music Videos

1. Vogue

2. Material Girl

3. Into the Groove

4. Papa Don't Preach

5. La Isla Bonita

6. Human Nature

7. Take A Bow

8. Nothing Really Matters

9. Rain

10. Beautiful Stranger

Personal Timeline

Dec 1971 -- Born;1977 -- "Star Wars" craze begins!;1978 -- Wendy is my first crush, setting a pattern of me falling for girls I find more intelligent than myself;1980 -- Sharon Dunn becomes my first penpal when I move to Utah;Dec 1980 -- Baptized into RLDS Church;1984 -- Meet Nicholas Smith in 7th grade, who becomes one of my best friends;1985-1988 -- Lived in Germany;1988 -- Acted in two plays, "Our Town" and "You Can't Take It With You.";Summer 1989 -- Wrote "Diabolic Incognito" for a Young Novelist competition;November 1989 -- Inspired with story idea for next novel;June 1990 -- Graduated high school, then enlisted in the Navy;January 1991 -- First solo trip via Greyhound to visit my best friend in Omaha and my grandparents in Kansas;March 1991 -- Went off to Basic Training;September 1991 -- Arrived in Italy for my 3 year assignment;October 1992 -- My first Eurail trip;April 1993 -- An odd coincidence brings me back to God;August 1994 -- My trip to South Africa becomes my most significant spiritual experience;November 1994 -- Meet my other best friend, Nathan Hagman;January 1996 -- Honorable Discharge from the Navy;May 1996 -- Car is totalled in an accident;August 1997 -- Start my college career at BYU;April-May 1999 -- Road trip to Pacific Northwest makes a huge impression on me that this is where I want to settle someday;January-April 2000 -- Internship with Vice President Gore;December 2004 -- Finished writing second novel "Seasons of Silent War" (still haven't found an agent for it);August 2006 -- Move to Portland, Oregon--finally!!;December 2006 -- Finished my long-delayed Bachelor's Degree in International Politics